Ducks4you 2021 Ragtag Thread

[ducks4you]

This year my family got interested in gardening. We are starting our seed buying and property layout tonight after dinner. I have been laying down soiled stall bedding along the street fencing and on the fence borders of my south pasture in preparation for this new season. More, later...

 

[Zeedman]

And so it begins...

 

[baymule]

Family, how many? Is this different households coming together to grow a garden? Sounds like a very good idea.

 

[ducks4you]

Two DD's, who live 12 minutes drive north of us, and used to live Here. Eldest DD has become Quite the chef. She wants asparagus, which I told her, "No Way!!" Then, I realized that she has a perfect spot at Her house, the 12 inch wide, ~20 ft long bed between the garage and sidewalk, east side. It has grown a few things in the recent past, but, not for a few years. It accumulates leaves every Fall, so good compost.
There is a funky vine that tries to grow there, but I have pulled out all but 3 of them. We can take a paintbrush of 2D-4 to them after planting, then, pretty much NO weeds there to compete.
I have NO beds at my house that can make that claim!

 

[ducks4you]

Got good gardening reading material for my birthday and Christmas.
A book on George Washington, as relates to his land husbandry. This piece illustrates his practices:

George Washington, The Farmer | NRCS

A book by the author of "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations." Author has a valid point about no till farming practices, but I think he quadrupled the length of the book by bulking it up with reiteration. By the 3rd chapter I was sold on his theory, so it's a slogging read. Then, I get to hear about a 5 crop rotation, only to be told that the order is irrelevant!
I do agree that corn-soybeans-corn-soybeans, like my neighbors who farm around me do, ad nauseum, invites insects, and that insecticides kill of the predatory insects, too AND creates resistance, AAARRRGGHHH!!!
He also has convinced himself that solar panels (which cannot be recycled bc they contain mercury) and wind turbines (DON'T get me going on how I hate the 600 ft ones less than a mile away from us!!!!!) are practical and environmentally friendly. I will lend him my canvas wall tent, should he care to visit and live underneath one this next summer.
I need practical advice, but fortunately, I have a LOT of land to rotate anything I want to grow.
Right now I am trying to figure out how to transplant tomatoes and peppers in both the thick mat of oats cover crop, and whether to remove the henbit and turnips for the peppers, or mow them down with my push mower.
Should I cut the smallest hole possible for my tomatoes, or use a spade? Not sure...
Happy to report that my two 2020 China Girl holly's are doing well. They need a boyfriend this year!

 

[ducks4you]

I have been dumping from the stalls by the street and decided to rid myself of the 2019 corn cobs that I saved. Almost done depositing them under soiled stall bedding. I will let you know if any decide to sprout this season.
Been a warm winter. Still have green grass growing, AND chickweed AND other weeds that haven't quite died, along with other desirable plants still thriving...in January.
BEST book that I have read (Birthday present) is this:

The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses: Coleman, Eliot, Damrosch, Barbara: 8601400514221: Amazon.com: Books

The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses [Coleman, Eliot, Damrosch, Barbara] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques...

www.amazon.com

by Eliot Coleman
Some of the chapters, like building movable greenhouses is, and probably will Always be beyond my expertise.
It is aMAZING how he figured out how to grow cool weather vegetables without any heat throughout a zone 5 winter. He (and partners) took a farm property without much promise and made it profitable.
I am amazed how cool weather vegetables enjoy cold temperatures, but you need to sprout them in a warm environment to start them off right.
I also agree with growing them together in tight rows. NOT the first time I have read this. I understand it is a great way to start tomato seedlings, with lots of "friends," then thin them to stand alone when they are strong enough.

 

[ducks4you]

Right now my basement setup has 3 grow lights (on an 18 hr day/6 hr night timer) and 3 heat mats going. I have 2 sweet potatoes vining everywhere, it seems, which started growing in my DD's pantry (even though MY efforts to start them have all failed.) I have 2 red geraniums rescued from the garage beds before the freeze--the other is in my atty DD's new office, and there was a wax begonia that was in her Old office and she thought that she had killed it through neglect. Not so. It still has "wick", and I have taken it in, to give it a few weeks of sufficient water, and to be left alone in my basement to sprout some more leaves and look normal. You really had to look for the surviving leaves, but it Is healing up.
I started some amaranth from seed and left it on the porch. All dozen or so of them are small, not growing much, but still look good, and they are now on the top shelf, along with the dehydrating rack with seeds from the pink pumpkin that I finally brought it from the garage to harvest, so that they can dry out before planting season. I DARE a mouse to try to eat any. If you didn't know, I own 7 cats, that are in/out of the house, who would relish the opportunity for an easy kill. Horses got the pulp from that pink pumpkin. ALL of the other pumpkins--orange, white, white baby boo, were dried out and packaged months ago, and I still have 2019 blue doll pumpkin seeds, never planted in 2020. I hope to plant pumpkins pretty much under every fenceline, and I don't mind if the horses get many of them this year. I like how their vines smother weeds, AND, they are, after all NATIVE.

 

[Zeedman]

I have 2 sweet potatoes vining everywhere, it seems, which started growing in my DD's pantry (even though MY efforts to start them have all failed.)

Sometimes it is better to let something grow, than try to make it grow against its nature. I truly believe that if we are observant, plants themselves can teach us to be better gardeners... my gardens teach me a thing or two every year.

 

[baymule]

I plant my tomatoes in the same place, year after year after year. They are happy there.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

On setting them out, mow down the weeds and cover crop. Let dry out, cover with cardboard or PAPER feed sacks, then mulch over that. Pull some back, cut hole in cardboard , dig hole to set tomato plant in, pack soil and replace mulch. I have cow panel trellis for my tomatoes, I never move them. We put sheep barn clean out in the tomato rows before covering with feed sacks. Each year, it gets better.

Last year, the harvest was so great, I had so many tomatoes, canned so many, that this year I'm not planting as many plants as I normally do. Now THAT'S success!

 

[flowerbug]

...
He also has convinced himself that solar panels (which cannot be recycled bc they contain mercury) and wind turbines

um, i can't find any reliable citations for any of those claims being factual.

solar panels may contain some metals and other elements, but not specifically mercury and they are recyclable. wind turbines, i can't find any cites about mercury being used in them. any parts that are rare earth metals will be worth recycling, the biggest part right now that is the issue for windmills and recycling are the blades, but i don't doubt that eventually someone will figure out what to do with them.

still in either case, if you are worried about mercury pollution the coal power plants emit more mercury (and uranium) in their pollution, either in the gasses or in the ash after the coal is burned.